Jammu, August 10: As per the old customs and tradition of this annual pilgrimage Chhari Mubarak – the Holy mace of Lord Shiva – was taken to the historic temple of Shankaracharya on the hill top at Srinagar, Kashmir for prayers in the morning today on way to the pilgrimage to the Holy Cave of Shri Amarnathji.

Lord Shiva in the form of a Lingam, is formed naturally of an ice.

A large number of Hindu Scholars, Sadhus and other pilgrims, chanting ‘Bum-Bum Bholey‘ accompanied the Mahant when the ‘Chhari Mubarak’ was taken from Dashnami Akhara temple at Maisuma ( Srinagar) to the Shankaracharya temple this morning.

The head priest performed special prayers amidst Vedic Hymns at the Shankaracharya Temple in Srinagar, Kashmir. The sound of conch shell reverberated the whole atmosphere as the devotees chanted ‘Har Har Mahadev, Bum Bum Bholey, Om Namah Shivaye’.

The special prayer was also attended by a selective group of Sadhus and it continued for about two hours. Collective prayers were offered by pilgrims, priests and others for peace and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir state.
All the necessary arrangements for the Sadhus and other devotees accompanying ‘Holy Mace’ to Holy cave shrine will be made by the ‘True Trust’ founded by Mahant Deependra Giri in 2004. Mahant disclosed that Chhari Mubarak shall be taken to ‘Sharika Bhawani’ temple Hari Parbat to pay obeisance to the Goddess tomorrow morning.

In the meantime Yatra to Shri Amarnath crossed 4.50 lakh mark today. A total 517 pilgrims in 12 buses and nearly same number of light vehicles left for base camp Pahalgam from here today. From Nunwan ( Pahalgam) base camp, total 898 pilgrims including 158 Sadhus, 223 males, 204 females and 13 children left for Holy cave this morning. From Baltal base camp near Sonamarg, a total 431 pilgrims including 270 males, 130 females and 30 children left for cave shrine of Shri Amarnathji.

An offocial spokesman conveyed that over 2600 pilgrims performed Darshan of the Holy ‘Shiv Lingam’ at the Cave and the yatra was going on smooth today in view of fine weather. No untoward incident was reported from both the yatra routes. There were no reports of disruption of yatra anywhere in Kashmir. He said the Yatra which started from Jammu at 8 AM today, crossed Shatani Nallah near Jawahar Tunnel at around 6 pm. It will reach Pahalgam by 11 pm taking brief halt near Lower Munda or Qazigund. He said a total 4,38,582 yatris performed darshan by late last evening while the pilgrimage crossed the figure of 4.40 lakhs today. It is believed that pilgrimage to the holy cave this year may cross 6 lakh mark.